First, let me tell you a few absolutely beautiful things I've come across this last month:
1. I saw Charlotte's Web (the new one, not the 80s cartoon) with my youngest son, Colin. The beautiful part was having a morning with just him. Although I'm usually amazed with and at my kids, this particular morning was outstanding. He has such a sensitive heart, tempered evenly with silliness. What he does with the combination of the two during his lifetime will be exciting to see.
2. My daughter, Stacee leads worship with the band at the middle school group every other week. Seeing her step outside her comfort zone to be vunerable with her talent in front of her peers makes me so, so, so very proud of her. I used think there was no greater sound than the belly-laugh of an infant. I've recently revised my opinion on that. There are few greater sounds anywhere in the world than the sound of your child raising their voice in song to the Maker they believe in.
3. Kris and I walked into the house last week to see all four of our kids sprawled out all over each other in order of their age (raising the bar, anyone?) on the same sofa. They weren't arguing or wrestling. They were showing their affection in a beautiful way: by just hangin' together. It brought tears to my eyes.
Now, let me share with you my last week, which by the way was filled with beauty and art. I left last Sunday morning with 2 other adults and 18 middle schoolers to drive 9 hours to summer camp. I haven't attended a summer camp since 1991, so needless to say, I was slightly intimidated by the prospect. I'm lucky enough to know most of the kids as I've been part of the volunteer staff for the last several months, but I had absolutely no idea how I would do with 10 girls under my care 24/7 for 5 days. I knew what I didn't want to deal with: drama, gossip, whining, boy craziness, sleepless nights. Other than that, my expectations weren't very high. I went into it knowing I would need a little time each day by myself, so I woke up early every morning for a hot shower and some time with Jesus. I knew I'd need to feel connected to the other staff on the trip, so I made a point to get to know my co-counselor better (Yelena is an amazing woman, by the way!).
One of my favorite times was when one of the girls was struggling in a specific area and I had the opportunity to see our pastor speak truth into her life about her worth and her identity and how much she is loved unconditionally by her Maker. He shared with her that God created her uniquely and that he knows she is beautiful. I wanted to tape his encouraging words to have them on file for when I need to hear them. Although this young woman's struggles won't end with that conversation, he gave her tools to use when she is feeling discouraged.
We have two girls in our group who are phenomenal young women. They come from rather yucky backgrounds and reached our church through an outreach program to the community. Since they're both in my small group I've been able to get to know them and I've been honored to do so. They were amazing all week with their involvement in activities, their fun attitudes and their encouragement to the other girls. God has his hand on their lives and I'm anxious to see where he leads them.
I shouldn't be surprised when God steps in to exceed my expectations, but I was this last week. The girls in my cabin astounded me with their gentle attitudes, encouraging words and their willingness to step outside of themselves to love on other kids. It was so very beautiful to see God softening their hearts toward difficult personalities and reaching out in tangible ways to help one another. One of my favorite things was that by the end of the week, I felt like we looked like a family. There was very little separation by gender while we ate our meals together or sat together during Chapel. The students all bonded with each other and I was emmensely proud of all of them.
I was so blessed to be a part of it and have been thanking God the last several days that he chose me to be with them all week. On top of all that, all our girls were asleep every night by 11:30. I'm not sure, but I'm fairly certain that's some kind of record!
